Study links climate change and violence, battle ensues

Abstract

In many large cities, police know that a hot summer will be a busy time, as murder and mayhem spike with the temperature. Some social scientists say that the same pattern could hold globally. Along with wilted har- vests and a loss of biodiversity, they say, climate change could lead to escalating vio- lence. Now, a study published online this week in Science tries to quantify the increase (http://scim.ag/SHsiang). Based on dozens of published studies correlating extreme weather and human confl ict, it concludes that warmer temperatures and more extreme rainfall pat- terns could boost interpersonal violence by 16% and group confl icts in some regions by 50% by 2050.